Music is sound. 

To analyse a piece of music without becoming thoroughly familiar with its sound is to miss its very essence. Therefore, using the Audio capabilities of computer technology, these analyses focus primarily on Aural Analysis through which the theoretical aspects of the compositional techniques of the pieces can be more fully understood and appreciated.

The Audio technologies which are used include:

• Audio CDs. 
  • CDs provide the best quality Audio. Commercial CDs of works may be used for analysis. 
  • Where possible, audio CDs or CD-ROMs with wav files of set works will be made available and will be forwarded by mail.
  • Wav files of musical performances are very large, and are therefore not suitable for online listening. 
• MP3 files
  • Wav files can be compressed to MP3 files without sacrificing too much quality. 
  • MP3 files are about one tenth of the size of wav files and so are more viable for downloading online.
• Real Audio
  • Wav files have also been converted into streaming Real Media files which are suitable for online listening.
  • RealOne plug-in is available online for these playing .rm files.
• Scorch files
  • Scorch is a Browser plug-in supplied free by www.Sibelius.com to play scores online which have been produced in their notation software, Sibelius.
  • The advantage of using SCORCH is that you can quickly and easily access musical scores online. You can see the score scroll through as you hear it, stopping and starting at any point as you thoroughly explore the whole score.
  • SCORCH files use MIDI technology and so the files are small and very quick to download. It must be remembered, however, that the actual sound is produced by the sound card or module of your computer system and so the quality of sound will depend on the quality of your set up. Vocal parts and lyrics do not sound authentically with MIDI.
• Midi files
  • Midi files are small and can be easily played online using your system's default media player. 
  • As with the SCORCH files, the quality of the sound will depend on the quality your system, and will be limited by the sounds available on your sound card or module. General Midi specification ensure that sounds will at least approximate to the intended instrument.
    
    
    

  ARRANGEMENTS: 

• Orchestral and SA vocal arrangement of 'O Waly Waly'  English folk song. (G Eaton)
  

  More works to be added shortly, for example:

• A minimalist composition
• Jazz
• Reggae
• Contemporary Song
• Film score
• 4 part choral
• Piano piece
• Guitar duet

  SONGS:

• 'Gilderoy' Scottish folk song.

  WEBQUESTS:

• Music and Religion - Mock Divorce Trial.
  

NOTE: For viewing scores in this Analysis section, you will need to download the SCORCH plug-in. See the Technical Support page for more information. 

To find your way around the scores:

• CLICK on the Play button to play the whole piece.
• CLICK on any bar to Play from that point.
• CLICK on the Right and Left buttons to move forward or back a page.
• You can also change the TEMPO and Transpose the piece using the other controls.